I find myself strutting with pride this evening - my chick flock is complete. I've got a beautiful bunch of babies.
The devil chicks, formerly known as Barred Rocks, significantly improved their behavior last night and were permitted to return to the well-behaved box with their sisters. While there has been some further pecking, it appears now to be evenly distributed among all of the chicks and not nearly as vicious. That will do for now.
I received a surprise call from a third farm store this morning, telling me they had just received their chicks and they had Araucana/Ameraucana (there seems to be some confusion over this breed) and Buff Orpington pullets, which the two other stores did not.
And so, I make one final introduction this week...
On the left hand side is my fuzzy Araucana/Ameraucana (if you can tell which she is, please speak up) and on the right is my wee little Buff Orpington, my one and only true golden chick:
You can't tell very well in the above photo, but the Araucana/Ameraucana on the left has the cutest little puffy cheek feathers!
Wait! Here is a better shot:
So, day three of life with chicks is now behind us and we've all managed to survive.
This weekend we start work on the chicken coop!
Yay! You got your Araucana & your Buff Orpington! Yay! I'm so glad you got a Buff. They are my favorites. They have been friendly, gentle and dependable hens for me. I guess I also like them because they are a beautiful golden blonde.
ReplyDeleteYou might check with the Murray McMurray Hatchery website at www.mcmurrayhatchery.com to find out about the Araucana/Ameraucana distinction. All I know is that they are supposed to lay a pale green egg!
This is a good description of Americaunas. Americaunas have rump feathers. Araucanas don't have rump feathers. The rooster is beautiful but if he were true Araucanas he wouldn't have those long beautiful tail feathers.
ReplyDeleteHatcheries took/take advantage of people who don't know the difference and pass(ed) off one for the other. The misinformation has been passed around as fact for so long that fact gets brushed off misinformation.
Happy to hear that the family is now complete...
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that the coop will turn out to be the taj macoop.
peace
OH! They're SO cute! The Araucana/Ameraucana one is adorable, and I think that's what we have...we had a lot of those. Nice birds...
ReplyDeleteWe also had two yellow birds, and one turned white, and one turned red(it was very interesting, their colors as a baby verses now). So, there's 12?
I tried to upload a video I took of the chicken coop, but youtube was being dumb again....I'll post soon...
~Mellimaus
Congrats on the babies. On to the next chapter!
ReplyDeleteThey are all super cute. I am glad that the devil chicks have decided to quiet own for the time being. That time out must have worked!
ReplyDeleteI had ordered Araucanas one year and thought that's what I got. Cute cheek fuzz and all. I since saw true Araucanas and they look nothing like them. So I guess mine are americanas and find them beautiful, winter hardy and fun. Most lay shades of green eggs but Chip lays tan eggs.
ReplyDeleteThose birds are so damn cute. You're going to have a very eclectic brood.
ReplyDeleteFarmgirl I asked the feed store about the difference in Aracauana/Americauna thing and he said it is country of origin. Aracaunas come from South America and Americauna come from...you guessed it America. I have heard the Aracaunas are a bit smaller but really the same. But don't quote me I am no expert and maybe someone else can fill us in.
ReplyDeleteI have one truly golden chick too. It is my Red Star chick and I think she is gorgeous.
Now your flock is complete. And what are you going to do with all those eggs?
Oh they are so cute!! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteI'm having baby chicken lust!
ReplyDeleteCongrads you got all your little chickies.. They are so cute.. Keep us up to date with how the chicken coup is going!1
ReplyDeleteBig Sloppy Kisses
Gus and Louie
They are a beautiful bunch of chicks. I am sooo jealous. I suppose I can only wait until March 24th. My due date.
ReplyDeleteBut really those are an adorable brood you have there. I can't wait to see their pictures as they all grow up.
Hi farmer jen - thanks for your continued cheering-me-on...it continues to make me feel oh-so-smart and propels me forward! :-)
ReplyDeleterobin - This was an great site you sent me and describes the americaunas vs. araucanas very well...sadly, what this means is that, while I was after the greenish/blueish colored eggs, I'm going to wind up with some more brownish eggs, as this is what the araucana lays. oh well. I love them all! :-)
Hey woody - thanks for the good thoughts!
Hi mellimaus - yes, I've got 12 in all. And they're getting FAST now...really hard to catch to get out of the box when I need to clean it! :-)
Hi frugalmom - yes, the devilish nature seems to have waned significantly - thank goodness.
hi sugarcreekstuff - if Chip is laying tan eggs, I think that means she might be an Araucana. They lay tanish/brownish eggs unlike the Ameraucanas.